Tracking

September 2010

September 30, 2010

The FAO Media Centre reports that by 2025, more than half the developing world's population - an estimated 3.5 billion people - will be urban.

"For policy makers and urban planners in poor countries, greener cities could be the key to ensuring safe, nutritious food, sustainable livelihoods and healthier communities. The concept of "green cities" is usually associated with urban planning in the more developed world. But it has a special application, and significantly different social and economic dimensions, in low-income developing countries.

As cities grow, valuable agricultural land is lost to housing, industry and infrastructure, and production of fresh food is pushed further into rural areas. The cost of transport, packing and refrigeration, the poor state of rural roads, and heavy losses in transit add to the scarcity and cost of fruit and vegetables in urban markets.... By 2020, the proportion of the urban population living in poverty could reach 45 percent, or 1.4 billion people. By then, 85 percent of poor people in Latin America, and almost half of those in Africa and Asia, will be concentrated in towns and cities. "

These facts show the issues well:

Rapidly expanding Accra eats up an estimated 2 600 hectares of farm land every year.

More than half of Beijing's vegetable supply comes from the city's own market gardens.

Horticulture in and around Hanoi produces more than 150 000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables a year.

In Cuba, 60 percent of horticultural production takes place in urban areas and per capita intake of fruit and vegetables exceeds the FAO/WHO recommended minimum - a daily intake of 400 g of fruits and vegetables (excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers).

The FAO define the challenge as being able to steer urbanisation from its current, unsustainable path, towards greener cities that offer their inhabitants choice, opportunity and hope. One solution is urban and peri-urban horticulture. Follow the link to find out more.

September 29, 2010

When I was in the US in 2007, lots of people talked about water "mining". Abstracting water from the ground for use usually in farming but also for municipal drinking water. The water cannot be replaced naturally at the same rate that it is being abstracted. The Guardian reports that in Cambodia water use by tourism could actually threaten the ancient site that people are actually coming to see.

"The five-star hotels around the ancient temples of Angkor are oases of green; sleek new buildings ringed by tropical forests and sprawling lawns. But the water used to keep them so is being sucked from groundwater under the city, threatening the stability of the centuries-old, world heritage-listed landmark. Unchecked development, and the widespread, unregulated pumping of groundwater throughout Siem Reap city, has raised concerns that the temples, including the world's largest religious monument, Angkor Wat, could crack or crumble if too much water is drained away.

The temples and towers of the 402-square-kilometre Angkor site sit on a base of sand, kept firm by a constant supply of groundwater that rises and falls with the seasons, but which is now being used to supply a burgeoning city. With the number of visitors to the northern Cambodian province approaching 2 million a year, increasing pressure is being put on the scarce water resource". Follow the link to read the full article.

September 28, 2010

As a migraine sufferer, along with virtually the rest of my maternal family, I have long known anecdotally anyway that there was a genetic link with migraines. Researchers have now discovered that it is due to a mutation in the TRESK gene – which is hereditary.

TRESK controls the sensitivity of pain nerves in the trigeminal ganglion, an area at the base of the brain. The study found that if the gene known as TRESK does not work properly, it can more easily trigger pain centres in the brain and cause a severe headache. We will wait to see if they now discover that the TRESK gene also impacts on its own or in association with other factors on stomach migraine, and food intolerance.

September 27, 2010

According to a recent report by an FAO-WFP joint assessment mission food production in Haiti is slowly recovering. The FAO Media Centre press release states that production "still remains significantly below the levels that existed prior to the January 2010 earthquake... Haiti's 2010 spring harvest, compared to 2009, saw bean production drop by 17 percent and declines in maize, sorghum and plaintain of eight, four and five percent respectively, it found. Forecasts combining the spring harvest with expected production from the summer season suggest that Haiti's overall crop output for 2010 will be about 1.2 million tonnes of root crops, 503 600 tonnes of cereals, 313 200 tonnes of plantain and 148 000 tonnes of pulses. This represents a reduction of 12 percent, 9 percent, 14 percent and 20 percent, respectively, compared to 2009.." Follow the link to read the full article.

September 26, 2010

BBC News reports that scientists have unearthed two new species of giant plant-eating horned dinosaurs in southern Utah. The fossils were found in the desert landscape of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). The creatures lived on the "lost continent" of Laramidia in the Late Cretaceous period, some 68 to 99 million years ago. Laramidia was formed when a shallow sea flooded part of what is now North America and divided the continent in two and was about the size of modern Australia. "They were close relatives of the dinosaur Triceratops, and belonged to the family known as ceratopsians. Ceratops means horned face." Check out the maps and photos in the article.

September 25, 2010

I have been speaking to so many farmers who are thinking really hard about how they produce energy on-farm. Euractiv have written a really interesting article on the use of agricultural waste to provide for the nation's energy needs. Check it out.

September 24, 2010

Check out this fascinating National Geographic video on how farmers in the US South are flooding their farmland in an effort to provide untainted wetlands for the migrating birds. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has rendered many existing wetlands unsuitable for birds due to the levels of oil.

September 23, 2010

We are still waiting for our wind turbine to arrive so that we can generate our own electricity at home. In the meantime, the largest UK off-shore wind farm has opened off the isle of Thanet. Check out the photographs on BBC News slideshow.

September 22, 2010

National Geographic has published some quite startling photographs as foam rests on the Tietê River in the town of Pirapora do Bom Jesus. Water pollution is a factor in many countries as we seek to maintain our natural capital in the face of population growth.

September 16, 2010

Scientific American reports that a proposed $6 billion-plus soil energy plant, has received clearance to build from the California Energy Commission.

"The plant has a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. By comparison, for all of last year, the U.S. installed about 481 megawatts of solar energy, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association. The largest solar plants to date are in the 200-350 megawatt range. The Blythe plant essentially groups four 250-MW plants, with the first slated to start generating electricity in 2013. The total pricetag is estimated at north of $6 billion." A really exciting project .. follow the link to find out more.